6 Life Lessons From The Oscars 2024 Winners' Acceptance Speeches
Pop Culture

6 Life Lessons From The Oscars 2024 Winners’ Acceptance Speeches

line
Winners, indeed.
BY Nica Glorioso
03.11.2024

From standing in solidarity with the oppressed to sharing stories of personal growth, here are a few things worth learning from the Oscars 2024 winners’ speeches.

Related: Where You Can Watch 8 Of This Year’s Golden Globe-Winning Movies and Series

Award acceptance speeches are emotional occasions for plenty of reasons. Not only are we seeing people get acknowledged for their hard work, but we’re also seeing an entire film team’s dreams come true. We also get to see these artists express their utmost heartfelt gratitude to the people in their lives or even use their platform to speak out about current sociopolitical issues.

This year’s Academy Awards, or the Oscars, saw an Oppenheimer sweep, Barbie snubs, an impressive performance of I’m Just Ken by Ryan Gosling, and touching speeches, to name a few. In these Oscars speeches, actors and filmmakers not only expressed their gratitude, but they also left an impression by way of some meaningful words. Check them out below.

THERE’S NOTHING LIKE FEMALE SOLIDARITY

This first one isn’t an award acceptance speech, per se, but rather the opening speeches for the first award of the night, Best Supporting Actress. Previous winners Rita Moreno (won 1962), Mary Steenburgen (won 1981), Lupita Nyong’o (won 2014), Jamie Lee Curtis (won 2023), and Regina King (won 2019) took to the stage to deliver spiels of praise and honor about this year’s nominees: Jodie Foster, Emily Blunt, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, America Ferrera, and Danielle Brooks. This segment is a return to form as previous winners of the category announce this year’s winner.

Each touching spiel from these iconic women is a tribute to the iconic women in the category, and it’s so beautiful to watch women supporting and celebrating women and their successes, especially in an event that’s historically a reminder that gender inequality still persists in Hollywood.

ALL YOU NEED IS TO BE YOURSELF

In a beautiful moment, easily a highlight of the night, Da’Vine Joy Randolph took the stage to accept her award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as grief-stricken Mary Lamb in comedy-drama The Holdovers. In her first-ever Academy Award acceptance speech, the actress not only acknowledged all the people that helped her get to where she is, but gave a touching recount of her mother kickstarting her acting career, and imparted a sentence that’ll go down in Oscars history as one of the most inspiring words said on stage.

“I thank you to all the people who have stepped in my path and has been there for me, who has ushered me and guided me. I am so grateful for all you beautiful people out there.” Da’Vine says.

“For so long, I always wanted to be different,” she continues. “And now I realize that I just need to be myself. Thank you for you seeing me.” 

BE BRAVE IN USING YOUR PLATFORM TO SPEAK OUT

The Zone of Interest writer and director Jonathan Glazer was among the bravest of people during the event, using his chance on stage to straightforwardly denounce the violence that besets an occupied Gaza and Palestine. The Zone of Interest, a drama about the Auschwitz concentration camp and the Holocaust, won the the Best International Film Academy Award, and the writer and director knew it was an opportunity to make a powerful statement.

“Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst,” he states. “It’s shaped all of our past and present. Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.” He very importantly asks the question—how do we resist?

GIVE MORE PEOPLE THE CHANCE TO TELL THEIR STORIES

Accepting the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for American Fiction, filmmaker Cord Jefferson talked about the value of acknowledging and recognizing talents and stories that only need the opportunity and the chance to excel.

“I felt so much joy making this movie,” he says. “And I want other people to experience that joy. And they are out there, I promise you…They just want a shot and we can give them one.”

HONOR CAN BE SHARED

The emotional Emma Stone in a torn dress made sure to first and foremost acknowledge the women on stage with her as well as her fellow talented nominees Sandra Hüller, Carey Mulligan, and Lily Gladstone. “I share this with you,” she says to Lily Gladstone, who was a favorite to win Best Actress. “I am in awe of you.”

Gracious as ever, the two-time Oscar winner talked about how her win isn’t just her win, but rather the win of an entire mechanism of people who came together to make something amazing. It’s cliché, but teamwork does make the dream work.

“It’s not about me,” Emma says. “It’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. That is the best part about making movies—is all of us, together.”

PEOPLE CHANGE PEOPLE

Billie Eilish’s speech accepting the Oscar for Best Original Song for the ever-so-haunting What Was I Made For? was equal parts hilarity and grace. She and her brother Finneas did the usual rounds of people to thank, but something that stood out was the young artist shouting out the people who have changed her and helped her become who she is.

Billie acknowledged her best friend Zoe “for playing Barbies with [her] growing up” and for always being by her side, as well as her choir teachers—Miss T, in particular, who Billie said didn’t like her but was good at her job. Along with many of the speeches here, it’s a nice reminder of how—for lack of a less-Boy Meets World–reference—people change people, how we are shaped and molded by the people around us and how they help in keeping us grounded or making our dreams come true.

Continue Reading: All The History-Making Wins That Happened At The 2023 Oscars

Esnyr’s New YouTube Skit Is Basically The Avengers: Endgame of Pinoy Pop Culture

Turn It Up: Bretman Rock Gives Us Another Reason To Love Radio With His Podcast

bretman rock podcast

Here’s Proof BINI’s Sheena Catacutan Is A Gen Z Trendsetter

BINI SHEENA

That’s Oomf’s Tweet: 4 Movies That Can Trace Their Origins To Social Media Posts

MOVIES SOCIAL MEDIA